5 Things No One Tells You At College

Dear Class of 2017,


You’re about to move onto campus and be blissfully unaware of how much sweat and tears you are going to put into the next four years of your life. You think that you sailed through high school and college just a tad harder. Seniors, like me, will glare at you and you will wonder why. We are glaring at you because you have no idea what is about to happen to you. I’m here to help you, listen to me my precious. You need to know these 5 things before the first day of classes.

1. The Freshman 15 Are No Longer the Freshman 15. 
It’s not the freshman 15 anymore. It’s the freshman 20, sophomore 15, etc. Everyone warns you about the dreaded curse, you ignore it and say you are going to be able to rise above it all. YOU will be the one who manages to get in 17 hours of school, a part-time job and workout every single day. Sophomore year it gets more stressful and suddenly it’s not so cute to realize that its NOT just 15 anymore. Trust me. Walk the hill. Watch the calories. Don’t eat Chinese every night at 3 am. You will thank me later. 

2. No One Cares.
You aren’t at home. No one cares if you can’t manage your time properly. Your teacher doesn’t care if your parents are wealthy or you were a straight-A high school student. This is college. High school is history. Don’t bring it up, you will not be liked if you do. No one cares that you didn’t get your homework done. Your grades are your own problem. The sooner you realize this the better you will do. It’s a hard lesson but it has to be learned. 

4. Learn Time Management.
The greatest thing college has taught me is time management. Time is the most precious commodity there is. It is unforgiving and you can’t make up for it. Learn to say no to your friends when you need to study. If they are your real friends they will understand. Put your time first. Your GPA will show it. Learn how to divide everything into chunks and not feel overwhelmed when 30 things are happening at once. 

4. Pack your lunch.
Do you know how much a salad is on campus? $7.00. Pizza is $5 without a drink. You do the math and add that up x 5 days a week. Panda Express is cool but so is having money for those dollar nights or emergencies. (Dollar night at the bar is NOT an emergency.) It’s going to take an extra 5 minutes at night in the the morning to save hundreds of dollars during the semester. Time = money. 


5. You Will Never Regret Working Hard
At the end of every semester I think about what I wish I could have done better, what I did wrong, etc. I’ve regretted not spending as much energy on Italian, not having enough money by not taking a second job, etc. I’ve never regretted the late nights, study sessions at the libraries over holidays and being the first person in the library on the weekends. You’ll regret not putting in enough energy but you will NEVER regret working hard.